Saturday, September 26, 2009

Yes, I know. The hard core Mummies out there would be screaming at this post. Babies are only allowed solids at 6 months. Oh well, they can scream all they want – I think I know my baby best.

Aiden was showing signs of interest in food even as early as his 4th month birthday. He would watch our mouths intently, watching how the spoon filled with food would go in and come out empty. Watching how our mouths would chew (sometimes gobble) the nyummy food. And he would start imitating our mouth gestures (drool included!). It was pretty cute the first few times, but after a while we were starting to feel a bit sorry for him.

We then started reading online on how to manage the transition between milk and semi-solids. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics: “The general consensus on when to introduce solids into a baby’s diet is based on development readiness – which should fall somewhere between 4 – 6 months”. The general recommendation was to start with iron-fortified rice cereal, as rice is one of the least allergenic foods and as such, is the ideal first food. (Excerpted from First Food, Marshall Cavendish.)

So we started checking out the shopping aisles for Aiden’s first rice cereal during our weekly grocery shopping trips. Initially, we wanted to let him have his first meal before Hari Raya, but we were worried that with all the traveling we would not have the time to prepare and feed him his rice cereal daily. And Mummy was a bit hesitant about giving him solids at his 5th month birthday (as if an additional 2 weeks was really going to make a difference!).

So Aiden finally had his first meal yesterday. The whole house was sooooo excited. We plonked Aiden onto his brand new high chair, strapped him in, buttoned on his bib, whipped out his brand new bowl, spoon (and cup), mixed the cereal powder with some water, and gave Aiden a small itsy bitsy portion of the mix. And he absolutely loved it! After a few small spoonfuls, he started asking for more, started opening his mouth faster and faster. He literally swallowed spoonful after spoonful in such gusto, he seemed like a pro! Check out the pictures.

The very first bite. Check out his pelik face... Haha!

Sippy cup included for show only.

Relishing the taste of rice...

The point where Aiden started to enjoy the meal...

Nyummy!

Hopefully his thighs would grow chubbier with this new intake of food. Macam Drumstick!!!

As if these two thighs are not chubby enough!

Oh comot nyer anak ku!!!

Aiden was making such a mess, we had to whip out the bib.

Macam anak burung kan?? We couldn't get the food to his open mouth fast enough!

Nowadays, we do not have the heart to eat in front of him. Food is always consumed behind his back, because if he sees us eating, his mouth would open, expecting a bite. The other day I was having Roti Canai with him on my lap, and when I raised my hand to suap the roti into my mouth, his mouth opened… it was so heartbreaking!!!

Congratulations Aiden. Next thing for you to try – durians! Heck, you MUST share Mummy’s passion for the king of fruits. The only reason why Mummy is so crazy head over heels over Durians is because Mummy’s Mummy gave her some when she was only a few months old. Haha!

P.S: A few days after, we were at an open house and my aunt was feeling really sorry for Aiden and his forever open mouth. So she gave him some semperit biscuits (the serbuk part). Crazy!

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Selamat Hari Raya Peeps! Albeit a bit late, it is the thought that counts.

We have been travelling non stop since Friday (2 days before Raya), starting from Ipoh, to Teluk Intan and then to Kuantan. Aiden is getting a bit restless in the car, refusing to sit in his car seat. His preferred position is standing by the window, watching cars zoom by. He has also been quite cranky at houses without A/C (very choosy), but would almost always strike up a smile whenever he sees hubby's camera lense zoomed at him (see picture above)!

Friends and relatives have been asking when my house is "open" for raya. Sob sob... Unfortunately there are no open houses scheduled this year. Yes, yes - I know 2 years back I had 3 open houses during Syawal. But this year, with Aiden and the new house (plus training the new maid which sometimes equals not having a maid), my hands are simply full! Nevertheless, we would gladly receive your Hari Raya open house invites with open arms (and mouths)!

*Sigh* Esok Hubby kerja. I am also scheduled for work. But I don't think I am going to report for work. I told the boss my attendance at work would ultimately depend on my mood. Haha, good to know I have an accommodating boss. Colleagues reading this, I think i'm going to "work from home" tomorrow... *cheeky grin*

Right, I have got to head off to prepare for the drive back home. Last breakfast at this lovely hotel, last packing, last baju raya, and last round of houses to visit before we hit the East Coast highway! To everyone going on the highway, drive safely! Ops Sikap lah!!!

Friday, September 18, 2009

It has been nearly a year *gasp!* since I was last on a plane. Yup! Ever since I found out I was pregnant and boarded the plane home from Sakhalin, I remained on the ground – due to the fat tummy of course! Furthermore, the Dutch oil company had assigned me to a local project - which eliminates most of the opportunities for flying out of Malaysia. My boss has no qualms about me going off for a training course outside of KL, but this time, it was by choice - I chose not to attend any training this year simply because I cannot bear to be apart from Aiden, even for a day!

But then again, I was not happy when I received my new Silver Krisflyer (downgraded from Gold) card, and a letter from MAS – “Although our records state a slight lag in your Enrich Silver requalification tally, we truly feel you are one of the deserving few to retain your Enrich Silver status”. Perrgggghhh! I feel so downgraded!!!

Therefore, when my boss offered a team building session cum visit to the MMHE yard in Pasir Gudang, I jumped at the chance to organize it (plus increase my Enrich points!). Well yeah, I am also the Project Engineer for the team – I guess it is part of my work scope. Haha. No extra brownie points for volunteering eh?

So off we went to Johor! Due to the economic crisis, we were faced with cost cutting issues. Therefore we were only allowed to make it a day trip, so we had to take the earliest flight out! I left home at around 545am (bleary eyed due to sleeping late the previous night making pineapple tarts and kuih makmur - see previous post). The line to check-in was crazy long!!! Thank god I could make use of my Enrich Silver by using the business class check-in line even though my ticket was only an economy.

The domestic flight hall. Haven't seen this for more than 3 years! The last time was when I was on a business trip to Labuan back when I was still under the Dutch oil company's Graduate scheme.

Kecik jer duty free domestic hall!

First flight out! Picture looks blur because I was too embarassed to take a picture of the TV screen. So had to zoom from faaaaaaaaarrrrrrr away!

See how early it was? Gelap lagi!

Ooohhhh that's the boss arriving. Time to board the plane!

On the plane, I slept the whole way. Thankfully, I was seated beside Ang, a colleague of mine. Hence, I wasn’t obliged to speak to him, and vice versa. So we snooooozzzzed all the way to Johor. Arrival at the Senai Airport, we were greeted by two chartered MPVs which brought us to Pasir Gudang.

Why is my Boss seating at the back? Kesian, the occupants of the other MPV could not sleep under the watchful eyes of my boss! Hehe!

We took the new highway to Pasir Gudang. Toll was free!

Arrival at the MMHE yard.

The gate where normal people have to register. Us? We aren't normal people! We breezed through the gate macam anak raja...

Okay no more pictures. Mana boleh, dah sign secrecy agreement with the company!

We spent the whole day in the MMHE yard with two good full hours under the blazing sun – checking out the Gumusut project’s latest progress. It was mind blowing how complicated it is to fabricate such a giant. And it was breathtaking when we climbed up to the topsides deck – to finally see how massive it was! Truly remarkable!

Okay okay, violate sikit. You can't see much, can you?

After the long day, we said our goodbyes to the Fabrication Team and left the yard at around 4pm. Again, snooze time. I think it was the unbearable heat plus fasting. My Muslim colleagues and I bought a few tidbits to have on the plane in anticipation for break fast – and I was charged RM12.50 for a bottle of juice! *gasp* But there was this simply scrumptious cheese cake on sale, however I refrained myself from buying it as we were going to break fast with something better! Pan Pacific, here we come!

We touched down at KLIA at around 745pm. It was the first time for most, walking through the glass tunnel bridge towards Pan Pacific. There was even a buggy which would make round trips between the airport and the hotel. And it was such a scrumptious feast! Everything under the sun! From Malay cuisine, Western delights, all the way to Japanese Sushi and Soba! They even had a chocolate fountain which you could use to coat your marshmallows *heaven*. I gobbled so much food I could hardly walk by the end of the dinner!

After salam raya (asking for forgiveness, konon!) with everyone and saying our goodbyes (it was after all my last day of work – I was officially on Hari Raya holiday!), hubby picked me up and off we went to Bukit Jelutong to pick up our ordered kuih raya. Can you imagine we have a total of 11 types (9 bought, 2 made) of kuih raya this year! Haha... I got a bit over excited. It is, after all my first Ramadhan plus Syawal in Malaysia since me and hubby got married.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

I had a flood of comments (on FB) and queries on my recent proclamation about my homemade kuih raya. Mostly were “Are you sure you made those?” or “Beli kut???!!!”. I have to admit, I was never the domesticated type! But since my stepsister made my house her second home, she would push me to try out her grandmother’s kuih raya recipe, every single night! Finally, I relented.

So, feast your eyes on picture proof that I made those nyummy Raya cookies!

First stop, Kuih Makmur (don’t know what this is in English)!

Firstly, roll up the secret mixture into balls.

Shape it into a sampan and put some crushed nuts into it. Then roll it again, this time into bite-sized balls. Ensure that the nuts remain in the ball!

Bite-sized balls, ready to pop into the oven. Make sure you glaze your pans with butter!

Freshly baked kuih makmur out of the oven. I zoomed into the picture to show you the texture of the balls. See the cracks? Well, that's a sign of a good kuih makmur. Because when you pop it into your mouth, it will instantaneously melt! *faints in delight*

Last step. Coat the balls with icing sugar. Tadaaa! It's done!

Second stop, Tat Nenas (Pineapple Tarts)! By the time we made this it was already close to midnight. I had a business trip the next day, but I continued making these till the wee hours of the night!

The tart mix. Pineapple paste was purchased from the nearby store, so it wasn't our usual brand of paste. Hubby had to rush to any store which was open, as the decision to make the tarts was done last minute!

The pan was glazed with butter, but it made rolling the mix difficult as the mix tends to stick to the pan. So we transferred it to a non glazed pan. Lesson learnt, should not have done that! See the after pictures on why.

Ini siapa punya kerja nie! Disfigured tarts!

Freshly rolled pineapple tarts.

Don't forget to coat the top with egg yolk!

Rows and rows of freshly rolled pineapple tarts:

Sikit lagi, sikit lagi! By this time it was nearly 2am. Aacckk!!! I have a plane to catch in less than 4 hours!

The end result. Siapa gatal tangan tak nak coat the pan with butter? Dah melekat! So we saved what we could into balang kuih. The rest? Went into our tummies of course!

Monday, September 14, 2009

Spoiler ahead! Are you sure you want to see this? Yup, below are pictures of Aiden trying out his new Baju Melayu! But we still have another surprise for Hari Raya. Hold your horses! I shall post pictures of this surprise as soon as Raya arrives at our doorstep! *cheeky smile*

Selamat Hari Raya folks! Can you believe that Raya is just two days away??? Salam Lebaran from Liz, Siddiq & Baby Aiden.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

And so my Dad arrived safely home from his trip to London. I did not bother to ask him much about his business in London. As long as I know he's not wasting his money on scammers, I am perfectly happy. But the best part about Daddy going to London? Souvenirs!!!!!!!!!!!! Unfortunately, none for Mummy (not that I am complaining since my Dad does not have the "right" taste!), but he practically splurged his whole souvenir budget on Aiden! Obviously, Aiden is enjoying the perks of being his ONLY grandson! *grin*

Love the uniqueness of this Harrods teddy. Check out the UK flag on the teddy's muffler scarf!

Aiden checking out his new bow + vest + white shirt combo, ready for use at the next formal black tie event!

Aiden grabbing a handful of his new Hackett shirt. Apparently grandaddy handpicked this one out for Aiden himself. Wow, granddaddy has taste after all!

About Me

Liz is an oil and gas engineer in her
mid-thirties, who is juggling caring for her sons Aiden and Ian, her marriage
and her career. She’s an extrovert who loves talking, a DIY enthusiast who enjoys planning parties and dessert tables, an avid baker (but a hopeless cook!) and a self-proclaimed shopaholic. Liz’s husband is her complete opposite, which helps alleviate her
flaws and push her strengths to the limit. Liz blogs about the many lives of
herself as a working mother, wife and woman. She hopes readers can relate to
her blogs or at least have a chuckle at her expense.